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CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) recently won the Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) III contract sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program (DoD HPCMP). The HPCMP aims to solve complicated and time-consuming problems with massively-parallel computing and very high-speed networking.

The contract was awarded to CenturyLink by the Defense Information Systems Agency's Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DISA DITCO). The 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a minimum award value of $250,000 and a ceiling of $750 million.

CenturyLink will provide a high-speed, fiber-optic network that connects the department's supercomputers and researchers at speeds ranging from 50 megabits to 100 gigabits per second. The company will supply Ethernet, Internet Protocol and optical wave services through a Virtual Private Local Area Network Service that will link defense scientists and engineers at leading research institutions, laboratories and test facilities at more than 150 DoD locations nationwide.

DREN enables researchers to design solutions to complex problems and develop new technologies critical to the defense industrial base and national security. In addition, DREN is an ideal national test bed to accelerate the development and deployment of ultra-high-speed bandwidth applications and is a leader in the deployment of next-generation networking and security technologies. DREN III will accelerate these network advancements into even higher levels of performance for the scientific community.

"We're excited by the new capabilities DREN III will provide the defense research and test communities," said Dr. Reed Mosher, director of the Information Technology Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. "Robust connectivity, enabling collaboration among world-class scientists and engineers, will result in fielding new and enhanced warfighting capabilities in record time."

"DREN is an essential component of our program, connecting defense researchers located throughout the country with the department's supercomputing resources," said John West, director of the HPCMP. "We look forward to collaborating with our new partners as we work together to provide new DREN services and capabilities to our community."

"DREN enables the greatest minds in the scientific and engineering communities to conduct research and develop some of the most advanced technologies in the world," said Diana Gowen, CenturyLink senior vice president and general manager, who oversees solutions for federal, state and local government customers. "CenturyLink will provide a unique environment with seamless communications to DREN III that will facilitate user access and enable scientific collaboration throughout the network. CenturyLink's solution will make DREN III a research network environment rather than a network that just transports research data."

CenturyLink previously won a multi-year task order from DISA DITCO under the General Services Administration's Networx program, valued at more than $250 million, to provide private line services for dedicated high-speed connections between military installations. CenturyLink has served the research and engineering community since 1998, when the company signed an agreement with the National Science Foundation to provide network services.

About CenturyLink

CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink® Prism® TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.

About the High Performance Computing Modernization Program

The High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) provides the Department of Defense (DoD) with supercomputing capabilities, high-speed network communications and computational science expertise that enable DoD scientists and engineers to conduct a wide-range of focused research, development and test activities. This partnership puts advanced technology in the hands of U.S. forces more quickly, less expensively, and with greater certainty of success. Today, the HPCMP provides a complete advanced computing environment for DoD that includes unique expertise in software development and system design, powerful high performance computing systems, and a premier wide-area research network. The HPCMP is managed on behalf of DoD by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. For more information, visit www.hpc.mil.